Tuesday, June 20, 2017

"It's a String Thing" #200 - Woo-Hoo!

...200 challenges and a new tangle to help us celebrate.

It's Tuesday, your good news day!
It is also the marking of our 200th "It's a String Thing". Congratulations to all you wonderful tanglers who, week after week, send in beautiful tiles.

I am grateful to each and every one of you - whether you participate occasionally or consistently, you are a cherished member of our community here.

To mark this special occasion, I have something new for us to play with - a tangle I've named C-Perfs. Perfs have a long history in Zentangle®. Maria Thomas introduced them and they are one of the most widely used tangles in the method. The combination of these orbs and the letter C is what make C-Perf such a happy tangle.

Below is a brief background on the origin of the tangle, multiple variations of it, and the step outs, followed by this week's challenge. Grab a cup of tea, it is a bit long...

When we celebrated IAST #100, I designed a tangle using the numeral 100. (Click here to view). When I brainstormed for this milestone, I played with the numeral 200, trying to combine the lines into some form of pattern, but to no pleasing avail.

It wasn't until I toyed with changing 200 into its Roman numeral CC, that ideas and lines and patterns took shape. It never ceases to amaze me when that type of tangle magic happens.

I began with a standard, printed C and mirrored it on either side of a single perf.

The line can be as long as you wish.

A bit of shading adds depth and emphasizes the overlap.

Next, I drew an elongated perf (think of a squished perf) and mirrored elongated Cs on either side.

These examples follow along a relatively straight line, but you can imagine that the pattern will flow along any shape, just the way standard perfs do.

From there, I explored different ways the letter C can be written ~

...and each one created its own variation.

A cursive lower case C ~

This seems so simple in and of itself, but notice how using this stroke 'dressed up' the center of this tangled flower ~

With perfs in mind, I used that same C chain and closed the curves to create perfs ~

A bit of aura and shading transformed it ~

Next, I connected the lower case Cs as one continuous chain:

This created perfs in one continuous stroke. The possibilities for this make my head spin :)

That open curve C was very intriguing...

Adding aura to just one side accented the perf shapes...

and when this same image is flipped, an entirely different look is achieved...

Using the same approach as in the cursive lower case example above, the curves can be closed in to create perfs, or smaller ones can be added ~

Here is the same open curved cursive C with aura and sparkled, black perfs ~

Lastly, the cursive upper case C became my favorite for all of its funky possibilities:

Here is the loop of the C closed up and then lined up in the mirrored, overlapping fashion ~

Doesn't that look like a line up of sweet cherries?!

A perf within a perf appeared when I drew the initial loop more circular than oval ~

And the line up of them was just too cute -

like a row of savory olives!

I am having way too much fun here...
I know you will too, so let's use C-Perf along with this string ~

Simply pencil the string line onto your tile and tangle away! Keep in mind that string lines are suggestions and let the patterns lead the way.

Here are the (Not so) Official Guidelines: * Challenges are posted on Tuesdays.*Use the string posted for the week and some or all of the suggested patterns* Submit a photo of your tile saved as jpg or scan your tile (300 dpi or higher) and save as a jpg*Email your jpg file as an attachment to - brunoadelem@gmail.com*Entries are to be submitted by Saturday evenings.*Photos and 'Best of Show' are posted on Mondays.

Send in your photos - you will encourage and inspire fellow Zentangle® enthusiasts all over the world. WHEN YOU SIGN YOUR NAME, PLEASE INCLUDE WHERE YOU LIVE. FOR EXAMPLE: ADELE BRUNO (FLORIDA)

PLEASE NOTE: It is not necessary for you to have a blog or website to participate. In order to eligible for the drawing, you must send in your completed tile.

If you do have a blog or website, I will add a link upon request. Please include the site specific URL.